


Secret of the Scarlet Hand but Everything is Wrong and It Ends Better

by gothsebastian



Category: Nancy Drew (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, gay stuff no one asked for, joanna has white guilt, just pretend like he is speaking spanish, nancy makes a cameo, sonny joon is nonbinary, sonny says fuck, taylor sinclair drives a cube, thats all really, tino balducci is a dumb piece of shit, unfortunately no one makes out, unlikely human interaction, unnecessary sexual tension, unrealistic medical conditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-23 14:35:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15608415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gothsebastian/pseuds/gothsebastian
Summary: When Alejandro del Rio is chosen by City Councilwoman Joanna Riggs to renovate Taylor Sinclair’s Mayan museum, he gets in way over his head.





	1. I Guess We Have a Plan

The wind ruffled Alejandro’s hair as he fumbled to unlock the door to the Beech Hill Museum. His hands shook with excitement as he dragged open the heavy door, sunlight streaming through the entrance and illuminating the dust covering the glistening Mayan artifacts. Alejandro grinned, breathing in the musty air, and stepped inside.

The old museum was run down and caked in grime but Alejandro could picture how it would look in a few weeks, bright and shiny and brand new. He took a moment to admire some of the beautiful ancient artwork before making his way to the back office that doubled as a laboratory.

“Hey, buddy!” Henrik van der Hune hopped up from his chair when Alejandro entered the lab, lunging forward to give the young man a rough hug. “It’s great to see you here!”

 Alejandro grinned, slapping his old friend’s back and directing his eyes to the other corner. “Great to see you, man. Who’s this?”

 The goofy-looking young man in the corner sat up from his slouched position in his desk chair, waving hello to Alejandro.

 “Sonny Joon,” he introduced himself, rolling himself over to shake Alejandro’s hand. “I’m the research intern, but I do most of the dirty work around here.”

 “There wouldn’t be so much dirty work if he didn’t make so many messes,” Henrik grinned to Alejandro. “I call him Hurricane Sonny.”

 “Nice to meet you, Sonny,” said Alejandro with a wink. “I’m Alejandro del Rio; I’m in charge of renovations for the next couple weeks. Joanna Riggs from City Council recommended me for the job to Mr. Sinclair.”

 “Ah, Joanna,” Sonny sighed, wheeling his desk chair back up to his computer. “We will be seeing a lot of her, won’t we?”

 

Sure enough, half an hour before volunteers were scheduled to start arriving, the front door creaked open, orange rays of the rising sun leaking into the building.

Alejandro looked up from the display he was unlocking, sheilding his eyes from the light.

 “I’m sorry, we’re not open yet. Please stay outside until —”

 “Silly boy,” came a familiar voice. “It’s me, your favorite Councilwoman.”

 Alejandro sighed, pocketing the display key and clapping the dust off his hands. “Of course. Ms. Riggs.”

 Joanna rushed to wrap her arms around Alejandro when he met her at the entrance. Alejandro shifted uncomfortably until she let him go.

Of course, the more tourists the museum attracted, the better Joanna would look, and the more Beechville citizens would vote for her to start another term this fall. The councilwoman may have been difficult to be around, but Alejandro didn’t want to embarrass her, so he planned on trying his best to make the museum a hit. If everything went well with this renovation, tourists in DC would be taking detours to the small town of Beechville to visit a world-famous Mayan museum. All in good time.

Joanna was nice, she really was, but there was just something about her that left a bitter taste in Alejandro’s mouth. Well, not literally — the times they snuck away from their work on hot summer days to make out in some dirty corner somewhere private were the only times that Alejandro actually enjoyed being with her. Alejandro wished they could just be friends, but he hadn’t found a way to stop her from arguing with him besides pushing her up against a cement wall and kissing her until they both forgot why they were fighting. While she was here, that was all Alejandro could think about.

 

After a long thirty minutes of talking to Joanna, Alejandro could finally open the doors and allow the local volunteers to enter the museum. The turnout was excellent, mostly thanks to Joanna’s campaign advertisements on local TV and radio. Alejandro unlocked the display cases one by one and Henrik helped a few trusted volunteers carefully move all of the artifacts into the store room. Sonny was instructed to stay far away from the moving relics and assist the rest of the volunteers with thoroughly cleaning the displays. Alejandro had given Joanna the special job of changing the carpet in each display case, and he had to physically drag her away from the press and convince her to work. Of course, she worked hard once she realized she was being filmed helping out, and Alejandro didn’t have to bother her again until she was finished.

 

By the end of the work day, all of the artifacts had been removed safely and the display cases had been moved out of the way so the walls and floors in the main room could be redone. Alejandro was pleased that the volunteers were making quick work of this renovation, and that the museum looked like it could reopen for business within a month. The city hadn’t provided as large a budget as Alejandro had hoped, but he was doing the best he could with the money he had. If he could create an educational environment where Americans could learn to love and appreciate Mayan culture, he would have met his goal.

When Alejandro peeked into the back office, Henrik and Sonny were packing up and getting ready to clock out. 

“Hey, guys,” he whispered. “Do you have a minute?”

 

Alejandro brought the two employees into the lower floor of the temple exhibit where he knew they had complete privacy. He sat them down on a narrow bench next to an old arcade game.

“Okay, guys, I’m gonna need you to promise not to tell anyone what I’m about to tell you. Not the curators, not your mother — nobody. Okay?”

“Okay, man,” Henrik reassured him. “Whatever you tell me is between us, bud.”

“Thank you,” Alejandro breathed in relief. “Sonny? You promise not to doodle about this?”

Sonny nodded confidently. “Of course. I’m good at keeping secrets.” He threw a glare in Henrik’s direction, sensing that the German man was giving him a look.

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t tell,” said Henrik. “Your secret’s safe with us.”

Alejandro nodded, his muscular chest rising in a deep breath. “My ancestors,” he began, “were descendants of the Maya. When the empire fell, they lived in what is now Guatemala, quite peacefully, until the Spanish arrived. What happened then is still happening now — genocide, oppression, and civil war. My grandparents left Guatemala and moved up to Mexico, where things are better, but still extremely difficult for us. They had to give up their heritage just to survive. My grandparents were fluent in a Mayan language, but I don’t know a word of it. Our culture is being stripped from us, little by little, by white people who can’t keep their hands off what isn’t theirs. And that is exactly what is happening in this museum.”

“Are you suggesting that we smuggle these artifacts back to Mexico?”

Alejandro started to deny Sonny’s statement, but his enthusiastic eyes showed no sign of disapproval.

“Well, yes,” Alejandro replied, wincing as he said it. “But I already have that part planned out. And it doesn’t involve you two, so you can breathe easy.”

“Joanna’s gonna be pissed,” Henrik spoke up. “She thinks these artifacts belong right here in Beechville, in the country that rightfully stole them.”

“Right,” Alejandro smiled, “which is why Joanna is not going to know. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I want the two of you to replicate each artifact to replace the ones that we are sending back. Henrik, you make pottery, and Sonny, you’re a painter, so together I know you can do it. Beech Hill will keep a beautiful piece of art and the original Mayan artifact will go back to the people whose ancestors created it. America will be happy, Joanna will be happy, Mexico will be happy, and you two will be happy when you receive the wad of cash that the Mexican organization I’m working with is promising us. It’s a perfect crime, you guys.”

 Sonny and Henrik shared a glance, and Alejandro waited anxiously for them to speak.

 “I know how important it is to your culture,” Henrik muttered, “but if I get caught up in this — it could ruin my career. Hell, I could spend the rest of my life in jail. When I got out of the stealing scene, I didn’t plan on going back to a life of crime.”

“If I go down,” Alejandro assured him, “neither of you knew about my plan. I’ll make sure everyone knows you two are innocent.”

He held his breath waiting for a response.

Sonny grinned, pushing his thick glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I’m in. Sometimes the right thing to do is super illegal — and I’m willing to take that chance.”

Henrik nodded, a small smile forming on his lips. “For once, I agree with Hurricane Sonny. Let’s do this.”

 

The next morning was hot and sunny, and Alejandro bribed people to come inside with cold drinks. The museum accumulated about a hundred volunteers that day, locals popping in to grab a drink and enjoy the air conditioning for a while. They disassembled the equipment in the temple, making room for a brand new setup with updated technology. Henrik and Sonny were already replicating their first piece, a tall red vase, more or less getting along as they worked together in their lab.

Alejandro had suggested that they find a private place to work so they wouldn’t be caught, but Henrik insisted that nobody would suspect anything. They hid in plain sight, Sonny hanging over Henrik’s shoulder as the older man worked.

“Taller. Taller. A little thinner.” 

Alejandro stepped into the lab while taking a short break to see how Sonny and Henrik were doing. 

“I know, Sonny,” Henrik huffed. “Please. You’re distracting me.” 

Sonny groaned, throwing his head back as he kicked off of Henrik’s desk, his desk chair rolling back toward his own computer. “Why do you hate me? I’m so lovable!”

Henrik rolled his eyes but continued to work, thankful to have the intern off his back. Sonny went back to his current task of rewriting the script for the audio tour, still pouting at Henrik’s lack of affection toward him.

“So,” Alejandro finally said, “how are you guys doing?”

“Just great,” Henrik replied, still concentrating on his pottery.

“It looks lovely,” Alejandro said as he bent down to look at the piece, being careful not to get too close. “Joanna will love it.”

 “If, of course, Sonny over there manages not to break it.” Henrik looked over his shoulder, sticking his tongue out in response to Sonny’s offended look.

“I’ve only broken, like, three things here, and none of them were actually that important,” Sonny defended himself. “But you fix them up so beautifully that no one can even tell.” He batted his eyelashes at Henrik, twisted backwards in his chair with his chin resting on the back.

Henrik smiled, shaking his head as he turned back to his unfinished vase. “Flattery. It will get you nowhere, Joon.”

Alejandro grinned at the banter, pleased that the two were getting along. He reached over to squeeze Henrik’s shoulder affectionately. “Alright, well, I’d better head back out. Keep working, guys; you’re doing great. 

Alejandro jumped in surprise as he shut the office door behind him, turning to see Joanna directly in front of him. 

“So.” Joanna said no more, just reached up to fix Alejandro’s shirt color and wipe a bit of dirt off his neck. Alejandro stiffened a bit under her touch, unsure how to react.

 “How — how are things going, Ms. Riggs?”

Joanna laughed quietly, letting her arms drop to her sides but still close enough that Alejandro could feel her warm breath and smell her perfume. “Just fine, Mr. del Rio. Everything’s going wonderfully.”

Alejandro looked over her shoulder, clearing his throat awkwardly. He couldn’t say he’d never been interested in Joanna, and he had maybe led her on a little too much when working with City Council to plan Beechville’s annual Mexican heritage event. But he couldn’t get involved with Joanna, especially not now. It was too risky, and hell if Alejandro didn’t like risks.

Alejandro reached out and placed a firm hand on Joanna’s delicate waist, guiding her to take a step back. He brushed past the councilwoman, stepping to the side and leaving her by the lab door as he went back into the exhibit area to get back to work. If he stopped to grab a cold bottle of water on his way, it was just because he was thirsty.

 

The next time Alejandro poked his head into the lab, Henrik was taking a break from pottery, cleaning up his workspace. There seemed to be endless shreds of paper under his desk, and Alejandro soon realized that Sonny was throwing the pieces of paper from his side of the office. He stepped inside, catching a glance of Sonny’s notebook. He was ripping up a sketch of his boss, complete with Henrik van der Hune surrounded by little hearts. Sonny’s face turned pink when he noticed Alejandro looking, and he grabbed the notebook, covering the sketch with his hands.  
Alejandro directed his eyes to the vase sitting on the counter between the two desks, fully constructed identically to the original and shining with wet red paint.

 “Looking good so far,” he commented, gesturing to the vase. “Can hardly tell the difference.”

“In about three coats it will be done,” Sonny said proudly, leaning back in his chair and still tossing shreds of paper in Henrik’s direction. “I think the Mayans would have been proud.”

“I agree,” Henrik chimed in, giving up on picking up the pieces of Sonny’s drawing. “I have to say, this man is a wizard when it comes to painting.”

Sonny glowed with pride at the compliment, shutting his notebook and shoving it into the locked drawer in his desk. He rolled his chair over to Henrik’s side of the lab and fished a scrap of paper out of his curly hair. “What can I say? I’m the best.”

 

Alejandro sat on the steps leading to the temple, wiping sweat from his face. It had been a tiring day, and he glanced at his watch, wishing it was time for him to go home. He felt his phone begin to vibrate in his pocket. He fished out his cell, but it was silent — which meant it was the Mexican organization calling. Worried that it was an emergency, he grabbed his other phone and flipped it open, slipping into the back exhibit to answer the call.

“I told you not to call me here,” he whispered in Spanish, but he didn’t continue to fuss at the caller, wanting to make the conversation quick. Fortunately, there were no major problems with the plan, so he finished up the call and made his way back to the front of the museum. He began to collect his things so he could get ready to leave, when he heard —

“Aaaaaaaahhhh!”

Alejandro whipped his head around, just in time to see Joanna’s body splat into the floor in front of the steps.

“Oops.”


	2. You’re Smashing the Wrong Amnesiac

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title stolen from Julia/Hobo Butterfly on Discord.

“Oops?” Alejandro echoed. “Oh my god! What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Sonny stuttered from the top of the steps. “She just tripped and I — didn’t catch her.”

Alejandro bent down to look at Joanna as Sonny ran down the stairs.

 “Looks like she hit her head. We need to call for an ambulance.”

“On it,” called Henrik, who had just stepped out of the lab. “Is she breathing?”

Alejandro nodded up at him. “Yeah, she’s breathing okay. Just don’t touch her and she should be fine.”

The three men stepped away from the councilwoman's unmoving body, Sonny gesturing for Alejandro to lean in close to him.

“Alejandro, the reason I let her fall — she knows.”

“Knows what?”

“She knows, Alejandro; apparently she understands a little Spanish — just enough to know that you’re doing something illegal involving the museum. You promised you wouldn’t talk about that here!” 

“I know,” Alejandro groaned in regret, “I was afraid it was an emergency. I knew she speaks some Spanish, but I forgot — god, Sonny we’re in big trouble.” 

“No, you’re in big trouble.” 

“Right.” Alejandro looked around, weighing his options.

Sonny looked down at Joanna. “Maybe if she just broke her neck —”

“No! Sonny, no. We’re not killing her. Maybe if we convince her that what she heard was a bad dream...”

“Yes. Gaslighting. Perfect.” Sonny was way too eager to eager to help out Alejandro, but he was thankful to have the young intern on his side. Sonny Joon was just as smart as he was goofy, and Alejandro didn’t have to know him long to figure that out. Fortunately, Sonny’s morals were questionable, so he would go to great lengths to make sure no one at the museum was busted for their scheme.

 

Alejandro allowed Henrik and Sonny to go home while he followed the ambulance to the hospital. He sat in the waiting room, waiting anxiously for Joanna to wake up. The doctor told him that he could go home, that she would be okay, but he needed to be the first one to talk to her.

“She’s awake, sir,” a nurse alerted Alejandro around nine o’clock, gesturing him to follow her. “What’s your relation to Ms. Riggs — are you her partner?”

“Um, yes,” Alejandro replied, afraid that the nurse would turn him away if he told her they were only professional acquaintances.

“Well, I’m sorry to say that Ms. Riggs has a case of amnesia, but it’s probably only temporary. It would help a lot if you could remind her of who she is and what she does to jog her memory.”

Alejandro followed the nurse up to Joanna’s room, where she knocked on the door and said — “Ms. Riggs, your boyfriend is here to see you.”

Fuck.

“I have a boyfriend?” Joanna asked as Alejandro entered the room. “Ooh, he’s hot.”  
Alejandro felt blood rush to his cheeks; he knew Joanna was attracted to him, but hearing her say it out loud like that was... strange.

“Do you remember me?” Alejandro asked, approaching her carefully. “I’m —”

“Alejandro,” Joanna finished for him. “That’s about all I remember. Do you work with me?”

“Kind of,” Alejandro replied. Joanna’s stiff hospital bed creaked as he sat down on the edge. “We do a lot of work together because your platform is big in the Mexican-American community.”

It wasn’t a total lie — Joanna wasn’t a major supporter of the Latino community in Beechville, but she did advocate for them, even just because it made her look good.

“Right, because I’m on City Council,” Joanna nodded. Alejandro expected her to continue asking questions, but she just sighed and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, but I’m really tired. Will you come back tomorrow?”

“Of course, baby,” Alejandro whispered, hating the way the word sounded on his lips. He leaned down and gently kissed Joanna’s forehead, which made her smile softly. What had Alejandro gotten himself into?

 

“It’s all good, man, she doesn’t remember a thing.”

Alejandro balanced his phone between his ear and his shoulder as he got ready for bed. He had already talked to Sonny on his way home, and the intern had laughed hysterically for several minutes upon hearing that Joanna thought Alejandro was her boyfriend. Alejandro was not so amused.

“Is her memory gonna come back?” Henrik asked. “I mean, I hope she doesn’t have amnesia forever but -- we never know when something will jog her memory and remind her of what she heard.”

Alejandro rubbed his face nervously, finally collapsing onto his bed. “I have a plan,” he said through a yawn. “I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

“Alright, man, get some sleep,” said Henrik. “I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Alejandro replied, beginning to drift off. Once he put his phone down, he was out cold until his alarm sounded.

 

“So your plan is to just — rewrite her memory?”

Alejandro sat on the counter near Henrik’s desk while Sonny painted the final coat on the replica vase.

“It’s genius, isn’t it?” Sonny chimed in, not looking up from his work.

“Won’t she eventually notice that, like, you’re lying to her?” Henrik asked Alejandro. I mean, everyone knows she would fight with all she has to keep these artifacts here in the states.”

“If everything goes well,” Alejandro answered, “I will change her mind before she remembers what she stood for. I mean, won’t she listen when her boyfriend tells her that those artifacts were stolen, and that they belong in my home country where they came from?”

Henrik rolled his eyes. “You really expect people to believe you guys are dating? I love you, buddy, but you could not handle a woman like that.”

“What?” Alejandro crossed his arms over his chest. “I could too date her.”

“Joanna? No way.” Henrik and Sonny shared a glance of agreement.

“Okay, well, it doesn’t matter, because I don’t want to date Joanna, and I didn’t even mean for this to happen.” Alejandro shook his head, Henrik and Sonny sharing a chuckle over his embarrassment. “What’s important is that she will agree that the artifacts belong in Mexico, and she will help us get them there legally.”

“So this operation is off?” Henrik asked, gesturing to the lump of clay he planned on turning into a replica mask.

“For now,” said Alejandro. “I think she knew you two were involved, so I don’t want to risk her getting you guys in trouble. We’re just gonna wait a while and see what happens.”

Sonny finished up his top coat and carefully placed the replicated vase on the counter, standing up from his desk. “Can we go to the hospital now? I want to see your girlfriend.”

 

Joanna was awake when the three walked in. Her eyelids were drooping but she was partially sitting up and she seemed happy have company. They entered the room quietly and shut the door behind them.

“Hey, Joanna,” Alejandro said softly. “Do you remember —”

“Henrik and Sonny,” she grinned. “How do I know you guys?”

“We work at the Beech Hill Museum,” Henrik reminded her. “It’s one of your favorite places to visit in the city, and you have been helping us renovate it as part of your campaign.”

Joanna nodded with a smile and reached out her hand toward Alejandro. Henrik raised his eyebrows at Alejandro and the Mexican man sighed, stepping closer to her and taking her hand in his. Alejandro glared at Sonny, who audibly stifled a laugh.  
“Anyway,” said Alejandro, “you loved Beech Hill, Joanna, but every time we go, we talk about how it’s not right that the Mayan artifacts are on display here in the states. Americans stole them from Mexico, and you think that they should go back there.”

“That makes sense,” said Joanna, furrowing her brow in thought. “Why hasn’t the government given these artifacts back?”

“Most people don’t agree with you,” Alejandro told her. “You’re trying your best to prove that the Mayan relics are more important to my culture than to yours, but the government doesn’t want to give them up. They don’t care if they were stolen or not; all that’s important to them is whether they attract tourism to the city.”

Alejandro was pretty sure he had once used that last sentence to describe Joanna’s platform to Henrik. And Joanna was pretty stubborn in her beliefs. If this worked, it would be a miracle.

Joanna looked up at Henrik and Sonny. “But if we send the exhibits from the museum back to Mexico, wouldn’t you guys be out of a job?”

Sonny grinned, pulling one of his notebooks from his messenger bag and rushing to the side of Joanna’s bed. “Not at all. There are plenty of ways to attract tourists and teach guests about Mayan culture without displaying stolen artifacts. I have some of my ideas right here.”

Eager to showcase his ideas, Sonny opened his notebook, showing Joanna some notes and sketches of exhibits he had dreamed up for the museum. Alejandro and Henrik shared a pleased look; this kid was going places. But Alejandro was glad to have him at Beech Hill for now.

“Unfortunately, though,” Henrik reminded them, “if we did decide to remove the Mayan artifacts, we would lose funding from the city and the museum would probably have to shut down. That’s why we need your help, Ms. Riggs.”

Joanna nodded, her head spinning with the new information. “Okay. So, um. Where did I grow up?”

 

The renovations went by quickly without Joanna in the way, and with Henrik and Sonny available to help. After the temple was emptied out, the volunteers helped set up a new interactive exhibit that Sonny had designed with the city’s renovation budget. It was nothing fancy, but it was certainly more twenty-first century than the computer quiz that was previously required to access the temple. Sonny also made sure that all of the misinformation was corrected and the new information was accurate — no more Aztec gods unintentionally thrown in with the Mayan ones. Alejandro found himself nervously checking his phone and glancing over his shoulder once in a while, but he told himself that there was no reason to worry. Joanna was in her hospital bed, safe and sound, and once her memory returned to her, she would be fully radicalized with her third eye open and would have no reason to rat Alejandro out. That’s what Alejandro told himself, anyway.

 

Alejandro decided to stop by and see Joanna on his way home -- he wanted to make it more believable that he was her boyfriend. She was finishing up her dinner when he let himself in and sat down on the edge of her bed, covering her left hand with his right. “So, how are you feeling?”

“Better,” Joanna sighed, putting her empty Jell-O container on her tray table and pushing it off to the side of her bed. “Some friends came to visit me earlier. We got to talking and my memory is starting to come back.”

Alejandro’s body tensed, and he didn’t move, waiting for Joanna to speak.

“I remember what I overheard, Alejandro. I don’t remember much else -- I still can’t even picture my hometown -- but everything from the museum came back to me. You’re smuggling priceless Mayan artifacts to Mexico, and Henrik and Sonny are helping you.”

Alejandro huffed, hanging his head. “I thought, after I explained it to you, that maybe you’d understand.”

Joanna reached up, placing her hand on Alejandro’s tense bicep.

“I do understand. Alejandro, I’ve always understood. But when you’re in politics, having an unpopular opinion can hurt you, and I —”

“You’re too scared to speak up about it,” Alejandro finished for her.

Joanna nodded solemnly, biting her lip as she looked up at him. “Please don’t be mad at me, okay? I really need to get re-elected, so on the record, Taylor Sinclair is the rightful owner of every artifact displayed at Beech Hill.”

“But off the record?” Alejandro smiled hopefully.

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

After a few minutes of chatting, Joanna was asleep, and Alejandro couldn’t bring himself to leave. He looked down at her peaceful face, brushing a strand of red hair off her soft cheek, and enjoyed just being with her. When they were working together, it was easy for him to get so annoyed that he forgot how beautiful she is. And when they kissed, it was easy to convince himself that his attraction to her was purely sexual. But now, in the dim light of the hospital room, he had nowhere to hide from his feelings.

 

“Operation is back on, fellas!” Alejandro announced as he walked into the museum lab the next morning. Henrik was cleaning off part of an exhibit while Sonny admired him, head in his hands on the desk. If Henrik noticed, he didn’t seem to care.  
Henrik pulled his face mask down to his chin as Sonny wheeled around in his chair to face Alejandro.

“So, asked Henrik, “Joanna’s not helping us?”

“Actually, she is,” Alejandro explained. “Just not publicly. We’re gonna have to keep doing this underground in order to salvage her reputation as a good little hivemind politician.”

Sonny reached over to grab the painted red vase from where it sat on the counter. He cradled it in his hands, looking at the replica lovingly.

“Oh, so I do get to finish you, my love! Just a little sanding and chipping and you’ll be all perfect!”

He poked the vase, as if booping its nose, and Alejandro felt as if this exchange was a little too intimate for him to be watching. Henrik had gone back to cleaning, dust mask pulled over his nose and mouth, but Alejandro could tell by the way his eyes crinkled that he was smiling.

 

Alejandro del Rio couldn’t believe his luck. He had convinced two white people and — well, Sonny wasn’t hard to convince of anything — to join a highly illegal and secretive operation to risk their jobs by helping a Mexican organization smuggle Mayan artifacts from Beech Hill. Henrik had already started sculpting a replica of a small black mask, Sonny was roughing up the replica red vase to match the original, and Joanna had done nothing but promise to keep quiet, but that made all the difference to Alejandro. This mission was shaping up to be nothing but successful, and Alejandro had never been so proud of himself for being devious.


	3. Didn’t See That Coming

Within a couple days, Joanna had gotten her memory back and made a full physical recovery. Alejandro insisted that she not do any physical labor, but gave her the task of setting up new headsets in the entrance for the updated audio tour. Upon arriving at the museum on her first day back, she hoisted herself up onto the front desk and began to uninstall the old headsets. When Alejandro came up to the entrance, hot and tired from moving machinery, he noticed the young woman sitting on the desk. He grabbed two drinks and walked up to Joanna, letting her choose which one she wanted.

Alejandro reached up to tuck Joanna’s hair behind her ear, noticing the way her freckles lit up in the sunlight as someone opened the door. He smiled down at her, but she did nothing to reciprocate the touch.

“Alejandro,” Joanna mumbled, shifting away from him. “I know you’re not my boyfriend.”

Alejandro shook his head, still smiling. “I guessed you’d figure that out.”

“No,” Joanna broke their eye contact and looked down at his chest. “I never thought you were my boyfriend. I shouldn’t have let you think I believed you.”

Alejandro looked down uncomfortably. “Oh. Well--”

“I’m gay, Alejandro,” Joanna sputtered suddenly. “I’m gay. I’ve known that for a long time but I thought -- maybe if I flirted with you enough I would change my mind. But you know how I knew for sure?”

Alejandro looked back up into her eyes, which were sparkling in the light. “Because you didn’t like me, the hottest guy in DC and surrounding areas?”

“No,” Joanna chuckled. “When I woke up from that concussion -- I didn’t remember a thing. If they hadn’t told me my name, my birthday — I wouldn’t have remembered. But I knew I was human, I knew I was alive, I knew I was a woman -- and I knew I was gay. That’s how I knew for sure.”

Alejandro wanted to be supportive of her. He knew this probably resolved the sexual tension between the two of them for her — but for him? Knowing that all of the glances, the touches, the whispers, had been a game? An experiment? It hurt him, especially now that he felt like he could fall for her. He never thought he would say that about Joanna Riggs, even just in his head.

“You’re the first person I’ve ever told,” Joanna whispered. “Thanks for being a good friend.”

Alejandro didn’t know what to say, so he just leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the councilwoman — his friend — and buried his face in her shoulder. Joanna, not seeming to care that he was more than just a little sweaty, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. This situation was a little sticky, all things considered, but Alejandro hoped they could iron it out, because he really did care about Joanna, not just now, but always, no matter how frustrating she was to deal with. And knowing that he was the first person she trusted to talk about this with made him feel a little less like an absolute buffoon and a little more like a regular fool. And if Alejandro was a regular fool — well, he already knew that.

 

“I told you you couldn’t handle a girl like that.”

Henrik didn’t look up as Alejandro entered the lab, and Alejandro laughed out loud at his remark.

“So, she told you guys…?”

“She ran up to me and yelled ‘I’m gay!’” Sonny recalled animatedly, “and I was like, ‘Oh my god, no way!’”

“I guess after she told one person, she just couldn’t stop,” said Alejandro.

“This is weird,” Sonny commented. “I could have sworn you guys were fucking.”

Alejandro laughed lowly at the brash statement. “Me too, kid. Now lay it on me. How’s everything going?”

“We’ve got four replicas done and two in progress,” Henrik said proudly. “We’re looking at eleven or twelve by the end of next week.”

Alejandro whistled. “I won’t tell you guys how much cash that is going to get us, but it is going to be a lot.”

He opened the unlocked cabinet where the replicas rested safely, and leaned in close to admire the intricate details. The swirling colors, the razor-thin carvings, it was all unbelievable. “You guys are incredible,” he breathed. “I mean, these pieces are just gorgeous.”

 “We try our best,” Henrik shrugged with a wink in Sonny’s direction, and Sonny was positively tickled by the attention.

“Well, I’d better get back to work,” said Alejandro, closing the cabinet carefully. As he left the lab, Sonny called out, “Your girlfriend’s a lesbian!”

 

Finally finished with work for the day, Henrik van der Hune tossed out his dust mask and hung up his lab coat by the door. He whistled a German tune to himself as he slipped out of the lab. He was about to lock the door when he saw a flash of orange hair between two of the display cases shoved into the corner of the main room.

“Hey,” Henrik called out. “I saw you. Who are you?”

He stepped into the large room, peeking over the cases to see who was back there.

“You have nowhere to go; just show yourself.”

The figure stood up, grinning guiltily at Henrik. “Hi, I’m Nancy Drew.”

She dusted off her hands on her green t-shirt and fixed her headband to push her messily braided hair out of her face. Henrik was shocked at the confidence of a person who had just been caught trespassing.

“Hello, Ms. Drew, now what might you be doing sneaking around here so late at night?”

“I might need your help,” the young girl admitted. “The owner, Taylor Sinclair, asked me to come down here and see if there is anything fishy going on.”

What? Taylor Sinclair owned about a dozen museums in the DC area — and Beech Hill was the one he probably cared the least about. Why did he think there was something “fishy” going on there?

“Fishy?” Henrik asked, trying not to react to her accusation. “Like what?”

“Apparently he saw some of the artifacts on display here up for sale on a site affiliated with the Mexican black market.”

Henrik scoffed. “And why is he looking at sales on the Mexican black market?”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Nancy replied. “After doing some research, I have reason to believe that Taylor Sinclair is selling Poppy Dada paintings on the black market for a huge profit and displaying forgeries in his art museums. I’m more interested in investigating that, because I don’t believe a word that man says.”

Henrik breathed a sigh of relief. “Of course. Um, come here, I think I can help you.”

He gestured for Nancy to follow him back into the lab, where he opened one of Sonny’s desk drawers and fished out a small white key labelled “TS”.

“Here you go; this is a key to Taylor Sinclair’s office. It’s in DC; I’ll write down the address for you.”

“Wow,” Nancy replied, examining the key. “Why do you have this?”

Henrik shook his head as he handed Nancy a sticky note with the address. “My intern is very sneaky. That’s all you need to know.”

When Nancy was gone, Henrik pulled out his phone to call Alejandro, eager to share what had just happened.

“So, you gave a copy of Taylor Sinclair’s office key to a complete stranger? That kid could have been anyone.”

“Well...yeah.”

“Way to go, Henrik!” Alejandro praised him. “I hope she robs that asshole blind while she’s there.”

Henrik chuckled, pleased at his friend’s response. “Apparently he claimed to have seen some of our artifacts on a black market site in Mexico, which is why he called an ameteur detective to investigate.”

“Wait, what?”

“What do you mean —”

“Henrik,” Alejandro said, his voice firm. “Did you just say that Beech Hill’s Mayan artifacts are for sale on the black market?”

“Well, that’s what Taylor told Nancy, but —”

“Henrik!” Alejandro exclaimed. “Taylor Sinclair has connections on the black market! He might not have been lying, Henrik — I have to go. I need to check on some things.”

 

Alejandro’s hands shook as he dialed his friend’s number. It was after midnight on the east coast, but two hours earlier for his friend, so Alejandro hoped he would still be awake.

“Aló, Alejandro. Cómo estás?”

“Listen here, Mateo,” Alejandro spat into the phone, his native language rolling off his tongue easily. “Have you been lying to me?”

“Pardón —?”

“You’re not working for an organization dedicated to returning Mayan artifacts back to their homeland. You’re going to sell our artifacts underground, aren’t you? Aren’t you?”

Mateo sighed, remaining silent for a few moments.

“I’m not sending you shit,” Alejandro growled. “We are done. I thought you had good intentions but you betrayed me, Mateo. Don’t call me again.”

Alejandro snapped his phone shut forcefully and leaned back on his bed with a loud groan. How could he be so stupid? He really thought he could trust this guy, but he was just making a fool of himself again and again. Why did nobody understand the importance of returning these artifacts to where they belong? What options did he have left?

 

“I just don’t know what to do, man. I can’t let this museum reopen with all of these stolen artifacts still on display.”

Alejandro was sprawled out on Henrik’s couch, his head tilted back as he chugged his cold beer. Henrik was folded up on his recliner, half-listening to Alejandro as he focused on the Saturday baseball game on his television.

“Maybe things are just better the way they are,” Henrik mused. He leaned forward, seeing that his team was about to score a homerun, and threw his hands up with a cheer when the batter made it to home base safely.

“No,” Alejandro groaned from the couch, disappointed that his team was falling behind. He took another sip of beer.

“Nobody gets it,” Alejandro complained to his friend. “I mean, can you imagine if the exhibits at Beech Hill were stolen from Germany?”

“I do get it, Al, I totally agree with you. But sometimes things aren’t right, and we know they aren’t right, but there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s better to just let it go, buddy.”

Alejandro shook his head in frustration. There had to be something he could do. Right? Wasn’t there something he could do?

 

“It’s Saturday. Why are you at your office on a Saturday?”

“A politician’s job is never done, Alejandro. Now hurry up. I have amazing news for you.”

“Alright, alright, I’m coming.”

Alejandro pulled out of Henrik’s driveway, heading downtown toward City Hall. He was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, but Joanna seemed really excited about what she had to tell him, so he didn’t bother stopping by his house to change. It was Saturday, anyway, so hopefully the building wouldn’t be as busy as usual.

Alejandro avoided eye contact on his way to the elevator, hoping he wouldn’t be recognized in his casual clothes by any city officials. He stepped out into the third floor, a little too excited to see the City Councilwoman he couldn’t stand.

“Mr. del Rio,” Joanna greeted him, gesturing for him to sit in one of the chairs in front of her desk.

“Ms. Riggs.” Alejandro took a seat and leaned forward, resting his folded hands on her desk. “What have you got for me?”

“I have been speaking to some of the museum’s major donors,” Joanna explained. “And I contacted this woman, Yoshi Piffenpaff. She is an esteemed scholar at a major university with an extensive knowledge of Mayan culture. I explained to her your situation, and she has offered the museum a grant of $50,000 to incorporate some of Sonny’s ideas into the exhibits — if you return all of the Mayan artifacts to their rightful owners in Mexico.”


	4. Sorry

The next week at work, Sonny Joon was positively ecstatic. He could not sit still long enough to type a full sentence, but it was up to him and Henrik to convince Taylor Sinclair that accepting the grant was in the museum’s best interest. So far, it was a firm “no,” from Taylor; the citizens of Beechville were not happy with Joanna’s decision, and losing the museum as Beechville’s only major attraction was not a risk he was willing to take.

Henrik was hard at work, resting his elbows on his desk and covering his ears with his hands while he concentrated on forming a plan. Sonny spun around the room in his desk chair, chattering away and singing about his excitement for the possibility of “Sonny Hill,” as he called it, to become real. Alejandro was firm in insisting that no aliens or alien paraphernalia was to be incorporated into the new design, but the rest was up to Sonny’s imagination.

“Sonny, can you shut the hell up?”

Sonny continued to flip through the pages of his notebook, ripping out a stray page scribbled with “I luv Henrik van der Hunk”.

“At this rate, we won’t have permission from Mr. Sinclair to accept the grant, so the renovations will continue as planned, and none of the crap you’re blabbering off about will matter to anyone.”

Sonny pouted, folding his arms on his desk and resting his chin on them. He hated when Henrik raised his voice at him; he couldn’t help himself from being obnoxious when he got excited. He was finally receiving some recognition for his ideas, but it seemed that everyone appreciated them except for the one person whose opinion mattered most.

“‘M’sorry,” Sonny whispered. “I’ll keep it down.”

Henrik spun his chair around to face the intern’s desk.

“Hey, kid, I didn’t mean to yell at you,” he said gently. “I’m sorry, okay? Now come over here; I need your help with this.”

Sonny perked up immediately and rolled over to Henrik’s desk, excited to help his office mate. The most important thing right now is convincing Taylor to accept the donation, Sonny told himself. Everything else comes after.

 

“Ms. Riggs, how does it feel to have the whole city turned against you, the leader of tourism, Beechville’s largest industry?”

Alejandro watched from afar as a local news team interviewed Joanna about her recent declaration that Beech Hill’s genuine Mayan artifacts should be turned over to the Mexican government. Previously, he never felt bad for Joanna when she got bad press; it was always brought on by her stubbornness or difficult personality and as much as he cared about her, he never agreed much with her political platform. But now, though this was a decision she had made herself, he couldn’t help but feel like it was his fault. He didn’t want Joanna to be the one hurt by this. It should have been him.

“I stand by my decision, Kimbo,” Joanna insisted.

“Could this have anything to do with the rumors that you are dating Alejandro del Rio, the Mexican radical who is currently renovating Beech Hill?”

Joanna laughed out loud. “I am not dating Alejandro del Rio. We are close friends, but I never let my personal life affect my work.”

Alejandro did not stay to watch the rest of the interview. He stood from his position of leaning against the building and found his way back inside the museum to make sure everything was still going as planned.

The walls of the main room were still wet from being painted over the weekend, so all of the volunteers were working on installing new exhibits in the temple. Unfortunately, there were not many volunteers today, as the museum had been accused of “selling out” and “trying to erase history” among other things in the local press. Things were going smoothly, though, so Alejandro soon took another break to stop by the lab.

“How are things going with Sinclair?” Alejandro asked.

“Not great,” Henrik replied, “but I’ve at least bugged him enough that he has decided to come down here.”

“Way to take all the credit,” remarked Sonny from his corner of the room.

“Okay, okay, Sonny was a big help with the ‘bugging him’ part.”

Sonny pretended to bow from his chair, and Alejandro gave him a silent round of applause.

“Alright, so, Sinclair coming down here. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“Hopefully good, Henrik answered. “But we’ll have to keep him away from any angry citizens -- say, I haven’t been outside. Are there a lot of angry citizens?”

Alejandro sighed. “Only a few hundred. It’s madness out there.”

“Keep your chin up, pal,” Henrik said with a pat on Alejandro’s arm, sensing his friend’s tension. “Things could still turn around.”

 

Sinclair was scheduled to arrive in the late afternoon. The press was still lingering outside the museum, but at that point, nobody was willing to speak to them. Alejandro, Sonny, Joanna, and Henrik sat outside on the steps to the museum, enjoying the cool afternoon breeze.

At a quarter to five, a cinnabar red Nissan Cube pulled into the parking lot across from the museum. Taylor Sinclair stepped out, one of his classic ugly ties blowing in the wind. Alejandro kind of hoped he would get hit by a car on his way across the street.

Taylor greeted everyone politely, even smiling for the news cameras as he shook their hands.

They stood on the steps, chatting pleasantly, Alejandro anxiously waiting for Taylor to suggest that they step inside.

A siren wailed loudly as a police car flew down the street, stopping quickly in front of the museum. Sonny covered his ears as the piercing noise continued. A tall, black-haired officer stepped out of the car, walking up to the museum entrance.

“Stop right there! Put your hands where I can see ‘em.”

Everyone froze in place and Alejandro put his hands up, looking around to see who the officer was talking to. But he was walking straight toward Alejandro, fishing a pair of handcuffs from his belt.

Alejandro’s heart sank. Who had ratted him out? Was it Mateo — did he tell the authorities that Alejandro was making forgeries of the museum art? Did an angry citizen claim that he was in the country illegally and should be deported? His head spun with regret of all the illegal things he had done with his life, and he put his hands behind his back so the officer could cuff him. Whatever the reason for this arrest, Alejandro was sure that their prior operation would be brought to light, and that he, Joanna, Sonny, and Henrik would all lose their jobs.

“Mr. Balducci! Wait!”

Alejandro whipped his head around quickly at the sound of another voice. A young red-haired girl was running after the officer, waving her arms. Was that the kid Henrik had mentioned — was her name Nancy?

“Not him!” Nancy called out as she got closer. “Wrong guy! It’s him! With the moustache!”

“...Oh.”

The cop — Officer Balducci — grumbled in embarrassment as he struggled to uncuff Alejandro, keeping one hand firmly planted on Taylor’s arm so he wouldn’t try to escape.

“You’re Taylor Sinclair?” Balducci confirmed as he arrested the museum owner.

“I’d like my lawyer to be present before I answer any questions.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Balducci huffed, shaking his head. “Sorry, kid,” he said to Alejandro. “It’s not because you’re Hispanic —”

“Alright, man, whatever,” Alejandro cut him off, shaking out his arms.

“And to think, you’re the professional detective.” It was Nancy again. Man, she had nerve.

“Don’t sass me, kid,” Officer Balducci grumbled. He finished cuffing Taylor and began steering him back toward the car. “You’re displaying forged Bobby Papa paintings,” he accused Taylor.

“Poppy Dada,” Nancy corrected.

“Kid, I told you I can handle this myself.”

Alejandro finally breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t going to jail — not today, anyway — and Taylor Sinclair was out of their hair. Hopefully for good.

He felt a tap on the back of his shoulder and turned around to see a teal-haired boy staring up at him, hands behind his back, glasses slipping down his nose, a hopeful grin on his face.

“Does this mean we get to open Sonny Hill now?”


	5. I Told You It Ends Better

Henrik van der Hune accepted Yoshi Piffenpaff’s grant on behalf of Taylor Sinclair, who was probably beating on the wall of a jail cell at the Beechville Police Station. On the day that a Mexican government representative came to accept Beech Hill’s Mayan artifacts, protesters covered the courtyard outside the museum. Joanna and Beech Hill were still receiving tons of backlash, but over in the corner, under one of the tall trees, Alejandro could see a group carrying their own signs saying “Justice for the Maya” and “Return Stolen Property.” It was enough to put a twinkle in his eye.

The Mexican government donated Beech Hill’s artifacts to a native-owned museum in a small coastal town. Alejandro promised Sonny and Henrik he would take them to see the artifacts in their natural habitat, someday when they didn’t have so much work to do. Alejandro dreamed of buying Beech Hill and permanently moving down from DC to live in Beechville. For now, though, that was just a dream, and they had a long way to go before the museum’s numbers were back up to how they were before the renovation. As the museum suffered blow after blow to its reputation, the only person losing money was Taylor Sinclair, so Alejandro wasn’t in too much of a hurry.

Joanna’s chances of re-election at this point were slim, but if the new and improved Beech Hill was a hit in the town, she might just stand a chance. If she was elected out of office, though, she promised Alejandro that she would still help him plan this year’s Mexican Heritage Festival as usual.

  
“I’m so excited! I’m so excited!”

Sonny’s voice echoed loudly in the mostly-empty temple. Most of his exhibits were still in progress, but the new design was starting to come together. The team didn’t have much help installing Sonny’s ideas, so the renovation was coming along slowly. Sonny was still over the moon with anticipation, sometimes forgetting how to stand, and Alejandro was happy for him. He deserved to be recognized for his work, because he was quite a talented kid.

“Hey. Sonny. Can you calm down for a sec? You’re gonna run out of breath if you keep yelling.”

Henrik was busying himself with putting together a machine that had been custom ordered according to Sonny’s ideas. He looked up, motioning for Sonny to come sit by him.

Sonny sat down on Henrik’s bench, which had been temporarily moved from the entrance. This bench was not part of his design and he couldn’t wait until it was gone. He rested his elbows on his knees, placing his head in his hands and hoping that Henrik was not about to fuss at him.

“I’m really proud of you, kid,” said Henrik, looking down at the Sonny’s face. He didn’t make eye contact with Sonny often, with the intern usually not sitting still long enough to allow it. Now, Sonny didn’t meet Henrik’s eyes; he remained focused on the partially assembled machine.

“If anyone deserves this, it’s you. You may be a mess, and a pain in the ass to work with, but I’ll be damned if you’re not the most creative person I’ve ever met.”

Henrik looked down at Sonny, waiting for a response. Sonny was silent, still, until he threw his arms around Henrik’s torso, pressing the side of his body against the older man’s chest and squeezing him tightly. Henrik, not accustomed to such physical affection, reached an arm around Sonny and patted his back gently, unsure how to react. He had never hugged Sonny before, but he figured he could get used to it if it meant the intern would stop talking for a while. Working with him might not be so hard that way.

  
Alejandro set up Henrik and Sonny’s forgeries in the front of the museum, being sure to specify in the labels that they were replicas. They looked beautiful there, catching the sunlight through the windows. As he arranged the new exhibit, trying to decide where everything would go, the museum door squeaked open and a small figure stepped in. Her red hair glowed in the sunlight as she brushed the dirt off of her horse shirt and mom jeans.

“I heard you guys needed some help setting up.”


End file.
